Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011 1:55 PM

Ethics is not just about following rules; it's about core values, said Judy Nadler, senior fellow in government ethics, addressing a recent conference in Dallas, sponsored by the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility in collaboration with the Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business.

Further, she argued, "it's not just about knowing your core values but also about having the courage to actuallys stick to those values and speak hard truths."

Nadler was one of four participants in a panel on "Ethical Leadership and Values."

Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011 9:21 AM

News Corp., the Rupert Murdoch company now embroiled in the "News of the World" scandal had a 56-page code of conduct, but instead of helping employees do the right thing, it may actually have been a hindrance. In an article for The Daily Beast, David A. Graham interviewed a group of ethicists about the deficiencies of News Corp.'s code. He writes:

“This is a compliance document without an inspirational set of values,” Hanson says. “The only value statement that it looks like is in this document is, ‘We treat each other fairly and with respect, establishing a high trust environment where people can do their best work.’ That’s totally inadequate. That doesn’t say anything.”

"For years, Hanson says, Johnson & Johnson’s “Credo” was a model—instead of just proscribing certain activities, it was a positive statement of the company’s values. Successful codes offer an informal set of moral guidelines."